Mark LaNeve, formerly the top marketing executive at General Motors is joining WPP ad shop Team Detroit as chief operating officer, the agency has confirmed. Team Detroit is the holding company's multi-agency entity that creates ads and plans and buys ad time for the Ford Motor Company on a global basis. The hire was deemed important enough that Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of WPP added a quote to the press release confirming the news late Tuesday. "Mark's joining the WPP team adds a whole new dimension to our global capability," the WPP CEO stated. "The great partnership which we enjoy …

ReachLocal reported Tuesday that revenue in Q2 2012 grew 21%, compared with the year-ago quarter. International revenue rose to 26%, up from 22% in the prior year period. On a constant foreign exchange basis, international revenue grew 50% from the prior year period and consolidated revenue grew 23%. Active advertisers across its network grew 17% to 21,300 and campaigns grew 24% to 31,500, compared with year-ago quarter.

Mobile advertising will grow from 18% to 23% of revenue generated by iOS and Android apps, according to a new analysis by app advertising and analytics firm Flurry. The firm forecasts app ad revenue will more than double in 2012 from $980 million to $2 billion. The bulk of the $8.7 billion in projected revenue this year, up 60% from 2011 will still come from paid apps and in-app purchases. The Flurry study also predicts long-tail apps will also account for a growing share of app revenue. …

That's right, if you can't get enough running a campaign or agency in the real world, you can now dowload a game that can simulate one on your iPhone or iPad. Developed by Brazilian ad industry vet Thomas Egas and Insolita Studios, Campaign: The Game is now available at the App Store for $1.99.

With $4.71 billion in "digital" revenues, WPP Group is the biggest digital player on Madison Avenue by a substantial margin, according to estimates from paidContent's top 50 global companies based on digital media revenues. Dentsu, which is poised to acquire Aegis Group, ranked No. 2 among ad agency organizations with an estimated $2.90 billion in digital revenues, followed by Omnicom ($2.78 billion), and Publicis ($2.19 billion), Hakuhodo ($719.2 million). None of the other major agency holding companies - including Interpublic, Aegis, Havas, MDC Partners, Cheil, etc. - ranked in the 2012 edition of the paidContent 50, which was dominated by …

In the latest version of its IntoNow social TV app, Yahoo has taken a page from Shazam, allowing users to instantly identify a song they hear on TV, whether a live performance or just playing in the background. Yahoo said the new Music Sync feature in IntoNow 3.0 is the first technology to automatically recognize a song playing during a show. Further, music surfaced through the feature can be purchased with a click through iTunes, or people can watch the related music …

Passed over as permanent CEO at Yahoo, former interim chief Ross Levinsohn is leaving the company, according to a securities filing by Yahoo today. Before the surprise announcement of ex-Google exec Marissa Mayer as CEO two weeks ago, Levinsohn was widely expected to get the top job. Tuesday will be his last day at Yahoo. During his two-month tenure as interim CEO following the ouster of Scott Thompson, Levinsohn earned praise for a series of moves including settling patent litigation with Facebook and a series of partnerships with …

MDC Partners lost $20 million in the second quarter while posting a 15% hike in revenues for the second quarter to $274 million, the company reported today. Organic revenue growth topped 8%. For the first six months of the year the Toronto-based ad holding company said it lost more than $46 million on a 12.5% hike in revenues to nearly $510 million. First half organic growth was nearly 7%. Company CEO Miles Nadal attributed the losses to "the continued impact of historical investment spending." Net new business wins for the first half totaled $80 million in billings, up more than …

Yahoo has formed a year-long strategic partnership with IPG Mediabrands that will include collaborating on ad-related research and first looks for IPG clients at Yahoo's latest digital ad solutions. Yahoo efforts will also be highlighted in campaigns featured in the IPG Media Lab, showcasing new and experimental ad innovations. To kick things off, the Media Lab from July 27 to August 12 is hosting an exhibition illustrating how Yahoo is delivering Olympics coverage and related campaigns across video, social …

TV check-in app Viggle has notched a million registered users since launching at the end of January. The app automatically checks its users into live, recorded and online TV content from over 140 of channels. Besides checking into TV shows, users earn points watching video clips, playing games, answering trivia and participating in live polls. To date, Viggle users have checked in to more than 63 million TV shows and, on average, spend 86 minutes per session within the …